


Little Lion Man

by orphan_account



Category: The Avengers (2012), The Avengers - All Fandoms
Genre: M/M, abandoned this fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-06-22
Updated: 2012-06-25
Packaged: 2017-11-08 07:11:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/440537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Steve, no," Tony begged, "You can't just leave like this, at least talk to me first!"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_But it was not your fault but mine,_

_And it was your heart on the line,_

_I really fucked it up this time,_

_Didn't I, my dear?_

-

"Steve, no," Tony begged, "You can't just leave like this, at least talk to me first!" His face flamed with anger and fear as he watched his husband rifling through their dresser, yanking out random clothes and stuffing them into a modest suitcase. He'd never seen such an expression on Steve's face before, one of granite and stone and steel, a hardness behind those clear blue eyes that he knew wouldn't be softened by just a few simple pleas. 

"I told you," Steve stated in a flat, monotone voice, "I told you, so many times, at dinner, breakfast, when we were taking Peter to school, that I refused to support that horrible piece of legislation. And you said that you understood, you promised you would stay neutral!" his voice rose ever-so-slightly, punctuated by how he slammed the drawers shut, rounding on Tony. His blue eyes shone with hurt, as if he'd been betrayed. With a sinking feeling, Tony realized that he had been. Steve bit down on his lip, casting his eyes to the ground.

"I'm sorry for my tone. But...if you promised you would stay neutral, then why did I see you speaking to the senate on behalf of the two of us, saying we supported a damned registration act?" Tony stayed silent, refusing to meet Steve's gaze. Moments passed before Steve exhaled, zipping the bag shut and walking out to the living room. Tony followed, reaching out for Steve's hand, but his husband (could he even call him that anymore, when they were like this?) yanked it away with a disgusted scowl. 

Tony swore he could pinpoint the exact moment when his heart dropped into his stomach, for Steve had never refused his touch before, not even during their most heated fights. In fact, before, during their spats, it was if Steve had been practically eager to grab onto Tony's hand, eager for them to reconnect and leave their fights in the past, where they belonged. But not this time. He'd really fucked it up. 

"So are you just going to leave me?" he shouted, his voice growing desperate, borderline hysterical, "Leave Peter, alone, while you go off and break the law that's passing this weekend?" Steve threw the bag over his shoulder and looked at Tony out of the corner of his cold eyes.

"Better to break the law than to break someone's trust. Tony...Tony, I love you. I always have. And I won't be leaving Peter alone." Tony could feel the lump rising in the back of his throat, unsure of whether or not he'd be able to speak anymore. He thought he saw a glimmer of tears in Steve's eyes, blinked away all too quickly.  _Are you so hardened to me already?_ he longed to ask,  _Am I just another villain in this fucked up world now?_  "I always will, remember that," Steve muttered. He threw the small bag onto the floor, which didn't even hold a third of his possessions, Tony knew, and headed towards the back of the house. Tony felt briefly confused, wondering why Steve wasn't storming towards the front door before the realization hit him like a shield to the face.

_Peter._

"NO!" Tony screamed, his composure breaking completely as he raced after Steve towards the back of the house, towards Peter's room. He practically ran into Steve, who had a miraculously still-asleep Peter gathered into his arms, an overnight bag slung over his shoulder. Practically frozen, he couldn't move, only able to stare at this unbelievable sight before him. In his most miserable nightmares, he'd never imagined this scenario unfolding. But there Steve was, gnawing on his lower lip with a furrowed brow as he adjusted Peter in his arms, curling him against his chest. Their son looked so peaceful, with a messy head of hair and a soft brow, swaddled in red and blue. Tony raised his hand, fingers shaking as he pointed at their son.

"I am not," he gasped, "Letting you take him. I don't know where you're going Steve, but I'm pretty sure it's no place for a fucking child. Peter stays  _here_. With his  _father."_  His voice broke on the last word, for he realized that he would lose two titles if he let Steve walk out the door. No longer husband. No longer father. Just Tony Stark, genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist...Iron Man. None of those titles mattered a quarter as much to him as the two he was on the verge of losing. 

"I'm his father too, Tony," Steve said quietly, moving around him and striding out the door, "And I'm not letting him stay here to be used as a tool in that awful movement of yours. I know you would use him, play up your movement as being for the children, or something equally disgusting. I love him too much to let you do that to him."

"And you think I don't? Do you really think I'm that sleazy?" Tony shouted, feeling weak in his legs as he staggered after the two of them, "I love him, I love you, please don't leave me, Steve, we can talk this out! We always have before..." He felt helpless as he saw Steve pick up his other bag, saw his entire life walking towards the door. In a last act of desperation, he grabbed onto Steve's arm, yanking him back with all of his strength. He wished he had the suit, enough physical strength to restrain Steve and keep him at home. 

"If you walk out the door I'll call the police. I'll call SHIELD, I'll have Maria tailing your ass for child endangerment," he hissed, shaking with rage, "You don't get to tear this family apart. Not over something as stupid as this." Steve looked down at him, Peter still securely in his arms as anger glazed over his face. With a steady hand, he removed Tony's grip from his forearm, shoving him back.

"I know you won't call anyone if you hold any hope of us getting back together after this all blows over. Peter will be safe. I can promise you that. Do you think I'm the only superhero with a child who's going underground? And, Tony...I'm not the one who tore this family apart," he growled, keeping his voice low as to not disturb Peter, "You did that when you booked the flight to Washington D.C. last week." 

Tony couldn't know what happened after. He froze, unable to see or hear anything. He remembered a kiss on the cheek, the click of a lock, a whisper of a goodbye. And then he was alone in his big house. No husband. No son. Nothing worth living for. Tony stumbled downstairs, to his workshop, fumbling with a key he kept in his office desk that he hadn't used in years. The liquor. He had to get to the liquor. A key clicked, lock turned, door opened, and then he pulled out a bottle with trembling fingers, not even bothering to read the label.

 _He would be so disappointed_ , that little voice in the back of his head whispered.

 _Well fuck him_ , he thought, trying to unscrew the cap. 

 _Tony_ , that voice, that little stupid voice that sounded so infuriatingly like Steve,  _Please, don't. You've been doing so well._  

He remembered throwing the bottle across his workshop, it smashing into the wall. Shards of glass flew everywhere, liquor spraying across the floor. But it wasn't in a cup. Not in his hands. Tony sank onto the floor, head hanging between his knees as he tried to regain his mind. 

He was alone. 

Again.

Tony bit down on his lip so hard he was sure he'd broken the skin, if the coppery taste was anything to go by. The look on Steve's face. He kept replaying that on loop, the memory of his face, that disappointed, disgusted face as he left. The last time the great Tony Stark had cried...through this haze, he couldn't remember. But he couldn't remember any pain that felt comparable to this ache in his chest, the two holes in his heart. 

"I'm sorry," he murmured to his kneecaps, "I swear, I am. You'll see though. You'll come to your senses." At this point, he didn't know who he spoke to, himself, or his ghost of a husband and son. 

He stayed in silence for an unmeasurable amount of time until JARVIS informed him that Reed Richards was trying to get ahold of him. 

"Put him through," Tony murmured, somehow carrying a conversation with his friend, failing to tell him that he'd just lost his entire family over this. He wanted to tell Reed to shut it down, like hell he was going to keep this insanity up, but he couldn't get the words out. Before the conversation ended, Tony cut in.

"Yeah, I've got you, I'll be in D.C again next week. And hey, Reed...tell Sue she's a great wife. For sticking with you through this." He could practically hear the confusion in the doctor's voice as he asked Tony what was wrong, but he'd already hung up. There was no point. He'd find out soon enough. 

Tony looked down at his wedding band, kissed the gold, and slipped it off his finger to put into his pocket.

"Again," he muttered, "You'll see." 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I understand some of you were a little confused about what Steve and Tony were arguing about, so I suggest, before reading any further, you look up a summary to Marvel Civil War and the superhero registration act. It should clarify things.
> 
> This story is basically the Avenger's characterizations from the Marvel movies mixed with an AU version of the Civil War events in which Steve and Tony are married, with Peter as their adopted (non-superpowered) child.
> 
> It definitely will not end the same way as Civil War, but things will be getting much bloodier after this chapter. And there will definitely be more Steve/Tony

The past few days moved in a blur for Steve. He'd made it out of the city, met up with other anti-registration heroes in an underground base near the border, and, the entire time, hadn't been able to stop thinking about Tony. The brokenness on his face, the way he shouted, pleaded, begged, all of it stood out in his mind, unable to be shut away. Steve knew he was being stubborn as hell, he really did. But there were some things he couldn't be soft on, and civil liberties definitely resided in that category.

He recalled that Tony had repeatedly insisted that, if he didn't push through this registration act, the government would just pass an even stricter one after another accident by a bunch of undertrained, overconfident teenage heroes. Steve pressed his face into his hands, rolling over onto his back as he stared up at the ceiling through his fingers. They were safe, for now in this bunker, him and Peter and the rest of the resistance. If there was one thing he was sure of, Steve would never let Peter come to harm. He knew Tony wouldn't let anything bad happen to him either, hence the reason why they were able to get away so quickly. 

"I'm sorry," he murmured against his fingertips. He considered Tony the love of his life, as cliche as it sounded, for there was no better way to put it. He'd given him hope for the strange future he'd woken up in, helped him to stop being a soldier and start being an Avenger...and a husband. Inhaling deeply to keep himself composed, Steve remembered when he'd first proposed to Tony.

Of course, his planning hadn't been the greatest, because that always seemed to happen to him.

He'd shown up in the old-fashioned uniform that he knew Tony loved, a ring in his pocket and hat in his hand as he'd knocked on the door to the lab. JARVIS had to let him in, for Tony had been working tirelessly on some new project of his. Before he could even open his mouth, Tony started babbling at him, going on and on about the breakthroughs he'd made in the past 24 hours, holding up little bits and pieces of his work, sheets of paper flying everywhere. Steve eventually just shut his mouth and listened to Tony ramble on excitedly, leaning back against the door with an easy smile on his face. Finally, JARVIS cut in.

"Master Stark," JARVIS sighed, "I believe Captain Rogers has something he would like to ask you." Tony just paused in his ramblings, confused at his AI, giving Steve enough time to cross the lab and plant a deep, but soft kiss upon his boyfriend's lips.

"...Will you marry me, Tony?" he'd whispered, pulling away from the kiss just long enough to retrieve the ring from his pocket. Tony's eyes went wide at the sight; he'd given Steve an incredulous look.

"If you had that in your pocket this whole time, why the hell didn't you shut me up sooner? Yes...yes, Steve," Tony laughed, kissing him once more, eager to have Steve slip the ring on his finger. The look of ecstasy on Tony's face was one Steve would remember for the rest of his life. 

A knock on the door interrupted Steve's little trip down memory lane. He turned his head to see Jessica Jones, well, now Jessica Jones-Cage, also known as Jewel, standing in the door, her baby in her arms and Peter standing next to her, looking sleepy-eyed. He dragged his favorite spider plush (only God knew why he liked the creepy little critters) alongside him, toddling over to where Steve lay down.

"Papa!" he cooed, stretching out his chubby little arms. Steve scooped him up into his lap, looking up at Jessica, who wore a sad, but sweet smile on her face.

"Luke said he'll be here soon, Steve. Everyone seems to have gotten away without getting too injured...and you swear that Stark won't be coming after us? Really?" He recalled the look on the new team's faces when he promised that Tony would leave them alone, at least in the bunker. Shock, disbelief, curiosity. 

"Jessica," he sighed, pulling Peter closer to him, "Tony knows that if he ever wants to put this war behind us, he can't come running after me. I just...I just hope he's going to be okay..." She opened her mouth as if to console him, but apparently decided against it as she turned and walked away. He didn't blame her in the least. She knew she was lucky that her husband agreed with her ideas. It was hard not to envy that about her. Steve gazed down at Peter, who squirmed in his arms, antsy from being unable to run around without a care. Unexpectedly, his son plopped down next to him on the bed, leaning against his shoulder.

"Papa," he started, looking up at Steve with huge, round brown eyes, "When are we going home to Daddy?"

All of the words caught in the back of Steve's throat, causing him to choke, his chest to tighten in the most painful way possible. His eyes burned with tears he'd been supressing since he ran from their house with Peter; all he could do was wrap his arms around Peter and pull him into a tight hug. "Papa?" Peter asked in a small, scared voice, "Are you crying?" Steve shook his head, squeezing Peter. 

"No, honey," he said, trying his hardest to keep his voice steady, "Papa's just...Papa's just happy that you're here and safe. Peter...we're not going to see Daddy for awhile. It's not safe to me to go home. And Daddy's mad about that. But he's mad at the wrong people." Peter's eyes widened, his little mouth dropping open.

"Is...is Daddy a bad guy now? Is that why you're fighting? Papa," he sniffled, wiping at his nose with the spider plush, tears forming at the corner of his eyes, "I don't want Daddy to be a bad guy! I want to go home!" Steve pulled his son into another hug before the waterworks could start once more. Also, this way, Peter couldn't see the tears rolling down his cheeks.  

 _I miss your Daddy too,_ Steve wanted to say as his throat closed up. He wondered if Tony cried when he left, or if he just headed for the booze. A pang of guilt struck him as he realized that, if Tony ended up drunk off his ass for the first time in years, it was his fault. However, Tony had brought it on himself. He had, he really had, by going behind his back to the government and trying to push through a law that would practically put them in 1940s Germany...but Steve remembered the look on Tony's face when he'd heard about the explosion that leveled an entire town, including a school full of children, caused by those reckless superpowered teens.

He'd known at the time that his husband imagined two things: Peter, as a young, untrained superhero causing the death of hundreds, and Peter, as a normal kid going to school, only to be blown up a few hours into the day by a bunch of teens with superpowers. 

Both images were the reason he found Tony staring at his liquor cabinet in the middle of the night, shaken by the events of the day. He'd taken him by the hand, leading him back to bed with promises that it would turn out okay, that they would find a solution to this nightmare of a problem.

Together.

"Is he?" Peter asked again, snapping him to attention, "Is he the bad guy? Is he like Uncle Thor's brother?" 

"Shh, baby, shh," Steve whispered, rocking Peter back and forth, "Daddy's nothing like Uncle Thor's brother...he's not a bad guy...if he was a bad guy, I wouldn't have married him. He's a little confused, Peter, that's all. We'll be able to go home soon," he lied, hoping that Peter would buy it long enough for him to work out all of the issues with Tony.

-

Tony didn't really expect anyone to come looking for him, as he'd essentially locked himself in his workshop and refused to come out, not even to eat. He'd forgotten how to be hungry. Steve had always brought food, made the food; they hadn't eaten takeout in years. Tony didn't want to dial a number to get food delivered for one. Not anymore. He lived on what was left in his kitchen and was perfectly fine with that. 

Unsurprisingly, Sue, Reed, Jennifer, and Hank showed up an unspecified amount of time later, per JARVIS requesting them to come, without a doubt. Jennifer arrived Hulked out, tall and green, calm and collected as she sharply spoke to his AI right outside the door to his lab. Tony heard Reed's gentler tones, coupled with Hank's querying about why the hell he hadn't come outside in almost a week when they were in the middle of trying to pass a law. Tony hadn't known Sue was there until she stepped in, a careful expression on her pretty face as she walked towards where he slumped over his desk. She was dressed in her Fantastic Four outfit, the one that accentuated the curves that Tony used to ogle, prior to marrying Steve. Well, even after...he could at least enjoy the view. But now, he barely cared.

"Hello, Sue," he mumbled into a stack of papers, "And Reed and Jennifer and Hank. It's a party now, isn't it? JARVIS, set off the confetti!"

"We have none, sir."

"Well that's a damn shame," Tony sighed, forcing himself to sit up and look at the four superheroes, all of whom were on his side, standing before him. Jennifer crossed her strong, green arms, assuming what Tony liked to call "The Lawyer Stance." She opened her mouth, closed it again, and then waited a few seconds before beginning to speak. Tony closed his eyes once more. He already knew she was thinking of how to apologize for Steve leaving him. 

"The senate wants you in the public, networking," Reed cut in, "I understand that you're hurting, Tony-"

"Do you?" Tony snapped, glaring at his friend, "Because, last time I checked, Sue was still at home. Sue hadn't run off to fucking Canada or God knows where with your only child because she was too damn stubborn to bother compromising on an important law. I don't think you understand one fucking bit."

 _And I haven't even had a drink,_ Tony thought, looking at the four stunned faces before him, _I've really outdone myself._

Reed cleared his throat, looking nervously at Sue before finding the floor exceptionally more interesting.

"No, you're right, I don't understand. And I'm sorry. I really am. We all care about Steve and Peter, and we want them back safely. That's why we think...we think we ought to go straight for the source. The government thinks we should try to lure them out, but Jen, Hank, and I all think that's an awful idea. Steve and the others are too smart to fall into a trap like that. And it wasn't hard at all to find their hideout. We've got as many geniuses as they do. It would be easy to go break in, get the fight over with." 

Tony refused to respond.

"The country's at war," Hank cut in, "And unless we end this fast, the fight will rage on for months, maybe even years. Think about Peter, growing up in a bunker, in war. I'm finding it hard to believe that Mr. World War II wants that for his son. I find it impossible to think you'd ever let that happen." Tony shot him a withering look.

"You're speaking as though I haven't run over every possible scenario for Peter in my mind," he snarled, "Last time I checked, he's my son. You can't know how terrified I am for him to be caught in the middle of a war. But, if I go after the two of them, I'll never see Steve or Peter again...Steve promised me that much." 

The five of them were silent before Jennifer started, her crisp, clear voice piercing the quiet like one of Clint's arrows.

"Tony, I am sorry that this war affects you so personally, but I must remind you that Steve is not the one with the advantage here. He is a fugitive now, with the law passed. He is an unregistered superhuman who kidnapped a human child from his legally registered superhero father."

"He's just as much Peter's father, Jen," Tony responded through gritted teeth, "Pick your words carefully, Green Giantess." Jennifer clenched her fists, and Tony saw her grinding her jaw in an effort to stay calm. Sue placed a hand on her arm, trying to keep her from going after Tony.

"Tony, dear," she said in soft tones, too reminiscent of Steve, "I know you're hurting. But we're on your side. Please, don't attack us." 

He felt a little mortified by Sue's response. The woman knew how to keep men in line, he would give her that. Jennifer waved her off, regaining her legal coolness. 

"Thank you, Susan. And you ought to listen to her, Tony. I'm speaking the truth here. Steve broke the law. If we take the fight straight to him and win, he'll be forced to listen to reason. If he doesn't...I'm afraid you'll be the only one who sees Peter become a fine young man. But, if he cooperates, if he registers and everything, then I know I'll be able to return a normal life to the two of you. I can get your family back, Tony." 

The word hung heavy in the air.

 _Family_.

Something Tony hadn't known until a few years ago, when he married Steve, adopted Peter, filled that gap from his childhood caused by an absent father and dead mother. Family meant waking up to Steve kissing him, despite his nasty morning breath, it meant getting up in the middle of the night to take care of Peter, who was prone to nightmares, it meant eating at a table at dinner across from Steve and next to Peter, fighting side by side with his husband, and coming home to two smiles. 

Tony knew he would give anything to get that back again.

"I'd like to call a meeting for all registered superhumans to join in a fight to bring back...fugitives," Tony said in a low voice, his throat raspy from not drinking enough. "Tomorrow. Jen, can you take care of that, and all the legal issues. Please?" he looked up at her through bleary eyes, hoping the strong, if a little cold, woman would take a bit of mercy on him. The softening in her face was his answer.

"Yes. You should get sleep. Clean up, look presentable. Like the leader of the registration act, Iron Man. Not heartbroken husband, Tony Stark." Blunt as ever, Jennifer would remain, and Tony was almost grateful for that one constant. Reed and Hank exchanged looks, as though they were grateful they didn't need to drag Tony into their plan, which they'd obviously formed before arriving at his home.

Sue was the only one who didn't look entirely happy. She whispered something to Reed that Tony couldn't hear, but he nodded and beckoned to Jennifer and Hank for them to follow him back out the door. Surprising Tony, Sue pulled up a seat next to him, concerned etched into every part of her face.

"I'm glad I could hear the plan," she murmured, "I was very worried when I heard you speaking to Reed on the phone, after Steve...after he left. I do understand though. Him, I mean. Now, Tony, don't misunderstand me," she clarified, seeing the fury in his eyes, "What he did was wrong. But I understand, because...because I almost did the same thing. I've thought about leaving. I don't agree with this act either. It's fueled by fear and anger. I know you probably haven't heard what I'm about to tell you, because Reed's pretending like it didn't happen."

Tony heard the bitterness in her voice and felt worried. Sue almost never sounded so upset around him, "Johnny landed in the hospital. A bunch of anti-superhero thugs got to him, beat the shit out of him. He hasn't woken up yet. Ben took off to Paris afterwards; he wouldn't even look at Reed. He was disgusted." Tony stared at her with wide, horrified eyes. Johnny was brash, loud, a little obnoxious, but he was a good hero and an even better friend.

"Sue, I'm sorry," he gasped, feeling a little lightheaded that the carnage had already started, "Jesus, I really am." She shook her head, signaling him to shut up.

"Johnny's my brother and Ben's best friend," she continued, "I almost went to Paris too, honestly. I'm scared of this registration business, Tony. I'm so, so scared that more of our friends will end up in the hospital because of a bunch of hysterical humans. But that's why I came here to support their plan. I suggested to Reed that they get this over with, ending the fight with minimal damage. All I want is to go back to the hospital until my brother wakes up. But, please, Tony, I'm begging you. Don't just go in and beat up our friends until they submit. That's not solving the problem. Talk to Steve first. He'll have nowhere to go, really, so it'll be perfect. Please don't use violence unless necessary...I'll try to convince Reed to do the same thing. But the past few weeks have already changed the world, my husband included, so much. I don't want to see the same thing happen to another formerly happy couple."

Tony wouldn't look her in the eyes. Blue eyes reminded him too much of Steve, really, and the blonde hair she paired them with just drove that home even more. With a long, heavy sigh, he shook his head.

"Sue...I appreciate your words. I really do. And all I can do is hope that you're right. But now, I have to start prepping the Iron Man suit. I'm sorry, but our friends are right. This is war. And I've got to get ready for battle." She smiled sadly, standing up and leaning over to press a gentle kiss to his engine-grease coated forehead.

"Just don't forget our conversation in the midst of all your tinkering, okay? I have to go; Reed's probably wondering where I am." She headed for the door, shoes clicking against the tiled floor of his lab. When she reached the entrance, she turned around with the same sad smile. "And, Tony?"

"Hmm?" he asked.

"Good luck." With that, she was gone.

"Thanks, Sue," Tony muttered, more to himself than to her as he looked down at the plans for the latest upgrades to his suit laying before him. 

"I'm going to need it."  


End file.
